At the Tip of the Spear
by angiosarcoma
Summary: Naruto thought he'd just be sniffing out some arrogant punks when he came to Youkai Academy. As it turns out, there are far more dangerous enemies out there than Antithesis. Unknown to him, secrets are also being kept from him back home. Naruto x Akuha
1. Chapter 1

**At the Tip of the Spear - Chapter 1: The Hunt Begins**

"Welcome, Uzumaki Naruto, to Youkai Academy." The words really drove it home for Naruto; he was no longer in Konoha, not in Fire Country or, he suspected, anywhere near the Elemental Nations. He wasn't a highly attuned sensor outside of sage mode, but he didn't need to be to detect the morbid aura this place exuded: from the forest of gnarled, dead wood to the school itself which appeared to be a haunted mansion straight out of a horror movie, the entire landscape seemed to _embody_ creepiness. It was going to take some time to adjust, he thought.

"Uh, thanks, I guess?" His discomfort was quite audible, and this guy's freakish smile was _not_ helping his state of mind. "So," he continued, "are you this Mikogami I'm supposed to talk to?"

"Yes, that is me. I hope you will find you stay here to be most... productive."

Dear lord, Naruto thought, was this guy actually _trying_ to make him uncomfortable? Because he was doing a damn good job of it. And he couldn't help but notice the double meaning behind the man's (or was that monster's?) words. Returning his attention to the conversation, Naruto noticed that Mikogami was starting to speak again.

"Your accommodations have been taken care of; you will be living just outside my office to make communication more efficient. Here are your keys." The twisted metal constructs seemed to shriek as they ground across the desk. Naruto hastily pocketed them. "I trust that you have been informed of your purpose here? Both of them?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, you'll be helping me control the fox and I'll keep an eye out for that Antithesis gang or whatever."

Mikogami nodded. "Good, that will save time. Since you are not a student, you will not be attending any classes, nor will you be held to the same expectations a student would be. I understand that you are already an adult in you society. Still, I must ask you be discreet in your investigations, so do not flaunt these freedoms. I hope that I can trust you to behave appropriately." Mikogami's already sinister grin seemed to grow downright malicious. Naruto had to work hard to keep his composure; he wasn't feeling great about this assignment. Not only was he being sent away for his own safety (and that was an intensely bitter pill to swallow), but he had to spend his time playing errand boy and blood hound for this guy (who he was already starting to suspect was slightly psychotic)? Not cool.

Upon seeing Naruto's nod, the robe-clad headmaster continued. "I'm glad to hear that. Now, we have been aware of Antithesis for over a year, but very little is actually known about them other than their stated goal to depose the pure-bred elitists and expose our existence to the human world. I should think the consequences of such an action would be obvious." Naruto had already gone over this with Tsunade, of course. She had stressed the severity of the situation to him, so he supposed he shouldn't feel too bad about being sent away. He was still doing an important task, and that she had entrusted him to do it alone was telling of the confidence she held in him. He wouldn't screw this up with such large stakes at risk. "We have a suspect," continued Mikogami, "Kaneshiro Hokuto, the Student Body President. However, I cannot be sure of his role in this, if he is involved at all. Do not confront him without my express permission. It would not be beneficial to alarm the real leader if Kaneshiro is, in fact, a decoy."

Well, this was new. "So I'm gonna be doin' spy work and gatherin' info? Do you got any places where I should start?"

"While the school is still free of students, I'll just ask that you familiarize yourself with the layout and the faculty. Once classes resume, you might think about looking into the Newspaper club or the Student Police Committee. Be careful, though, and consult with me first. I don't believe either to be connected to Antithesis, but in case they are..." Naruto understood well what Mikogami was saying. Alerting the real enemy was a sure way to fail his mission right off the bat; it was a mistake that he had no intention of making. "That is all that must be said on that matter. Classes resume in one week. Until then, do as I have instructed. We will work on controlling your inner demon in the evenings, from seven o'clock to ten o'clock, starting tonight." Again, that disturbing grin took on a sadistic edge. "I hope you're prepared."

This time, rather than be intimidated, Naruto took the challenge head on. With an exclamation of self-assurance, he returned "I'd be more worried about yourself, old man! You're dealin' with Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!"

That evening, as he lay in bed, he had to wonder what kind of studpidity had possessed him to say that.

**AN:** Trying to keep this short (the author's note, not the chapter). Sorry about the crappy length. I can only say that, since this is more a prologue than anything, it didn't have much more to say or do. I feel it accomplished its purpose of setting the story's background, which I hope is at least mildly original and intriguing. If not then... well...

It's a Naruto x Akuha pairing! That should be unique enough to get some attention!

...Don't judge me for being a review whore.

Please?

Anyway, tell me what you think, what sucked, what ruled, yadda yadda yadda.

And, to readers of Anarchy, my Ranma work, it's practically dead. If you want to do something with it, then go ahead. I'd be more than happy to tell how I was planning to take the story. The same goes for this as well. Feel free to use the concept behind my storyline (unless it's already been used, in which case I apologize from the bottom of my heart). Just give credit where credit is due.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything appearing in this story. I didn't own anything in the first chapter either, despite having forgotten to put this up.

_Warning! Gratuitous profanity ahead!_

Before I start, I'd like to thank everyone for the feedback. And sorry for the punctuation errors! I swear that I try to keep an eye out for them, but... well... yeah, I don't have an excuse, do I?

**At the Tip of the Spear - Chapter Two: Progress**

"Tsukune! Good morning!" The exclamation coming from the attractive girl, coupled with the flying tackle and resultant smothering of the rather plain boy, drew more than a few envious stares.

"Hands off, you harlot!" Envy turned to incredulity when a pot materialized out of thin air and conked the girl on the head.

"You little brat! Do you _want_ me to beat the stuffing out of you?" The following taunt provoked a scream of outrage which sent the pint-sized witch fleeing. Her victim didn't give her much of a head start.

"Kurumu, Yukari, please, calm down!" Neither Tsukune nor the pink-haired girl beside him seemed to be able to reach either of their friends. Which was quite unfortunate, though the gathering crowd might dispute that claim.

Naruto, for his part, looked on in more than a little amusement; and jealousy. Seriously, what was up with shit like this? Sasuke, he could understand. The other boy had been a prodigy from a prestigious clan with a tragic past; apparently, he'd also been good looking, though Naruto wasn't going to comment one way or another, and that seemed to count for something with those of the female persuasion. But this Tsukune guy? What did he have that Naruto didn't? "I guys some guys just get lucky," he said to himself. As he walked by the other boy, currently being detained in the first girl's, Kurumu's, abundant cleavage, he bitterly added on, "really, really lucky." He promptly ignored Tsukune's pleading gaze and exited the corridor. He had business to attend to.

It had been almost a month since coming to the Academy and he hadn't made any progress with Antithesis. He'd seen Kaneshiro Hokuto a few times and had memorized what the older man's aura felt like, but he'd done nothing suspicious. Naruto was forced to conclude that he could gleam nothing by simply observing Hokuto. That didn't stop him from having a shadow clone tail the Student Body President, though.

Neither had any of the man's associates lead to anything even slightly incriminating. The only oddity was that guy, Kiria, that Hokuto had met with once. Naruto hadn't gotten a good read on him, but he was relatively sure that the boy didn't hang around campus very often. At the very least, Kiria kept an extremely low profile, and, while slightly weird, it still didn't give Naruto any idea where to go or what to do.

He had brought up his dilemma with Mikogami. The headmaster hadn't been overly pleased, and Naruto couldn't begrudge the man that; he was getting pretty pissed off himself. And bored. Very, very bored. There wasn't _anything_ to do around the school if you weren't a student or teacher. Naruto couldn't attend classes (not that he wanted to, but at least that would be slightly productive on top of being mind numbingly dull). He couldn't join any clubs, either, which cut off most possibilities of making friends around here.

And boy did he miss his friends! He'd gotten a few letters, but that didn't cure his loneliness. There had been something decidedly odd about those letters, though he couldn't decide just what it was. Idly, he recalled Sakura's.

_Naruto, how are you doing? Tsunade-sama told us that you would be gone for awhile. She didn't say for how long, but I get the feeling I won't be seeing you for a long time. All of us miss you, Naruto, and wish you'd come back. I hope that life, wherever you are, is treating you well._

It had been short, much shorter than he would've liked, and it felt like she was leaving something out. 'But that doesn't make any sense,' he thought. 'Sakura has no reason to lie to me about anything, does she?' And what about the others? Kakashi's, Lee's, and rest of his friends' letters had been strikingly similar to Sakura's. It felt a bit odd that no one had anything new to say. Honestly, it worried him a little bit more than he would ever admit.

As his destination, the Student Police Committee's office, came into view, Naruto recalled the rest of his discussion with Mikogami the other day. Since Naruto wasn't making any progress on his own, it only made sense that he seek out the help of an organized group who was already aware of the goings-on around campus, especially one that was involved in some of the more shady business that happened around Youkai Academy. It also helped that the Police Committee's members were of the very pure-bred elite class that Antithesis was trying to overthrow. Even though Naruto understood the necessity of working with people like these 'Enforcers,' he didn't have to like it; and, given what he'd heard whispered about them and their deeds, he most certainly didn't.

Naruto took a deep breath to calm himself down, checked to make sure had Mikogami's insignia on him, and then opened the door. There wasn't much to say about the room that awaited him on the other side. It looked like the rest of the school: plain and white. It was, Naruto decided, quite in line with what he had come to expect from these people; a facade of normality barely covering up a bizarre, horrifying truth.

The leader of the Police Committee sat behind a desk at the end of the room. This Kuyou person cut an odd sight with his pale skin and long, blond hair. His gaze lifted from his desk to regard Naruto with a mix of boredom and arrogance. It felt like the man was looking down on him. Naturally, Naruto disliked him right off the bat. "Can I help you?" Dear lord, even his voice reeked of smug disregard. Naruto found that those nasty rumors he'd heard over the last few weeks seemed to carry a bit more weight; somehow, he could just see Kuyou as the kind of guy to run a corrupt, self-serving groups of thugs.

"Yeah," Naruto said, his voice coming out just as rough as he'd intended; it was pretty damn rough, too, and it had the intended effect of irritating Kuyou. No one had ever accused Naruto of being an effective diplomat. Pulling out the piece of paper with the headmaster's crest on it, Naruto continued, "Mikogami's had me lookin' for some guys called Antithesis. He says you can be trusted not to blab or anything, so spill what you got on 'em."

Kuyou snorted derisively. "I see, so you're the headmaster's lapdog I've been hearing about." Oh, this guy was really pissing him off. Apparently, Kuyou was well aware of this and let a smug grin slip onto his face. "What makes you think that I would know anything you'd be interested in? Or, for that matter, why I would tell you if I did?"

Naruto regarded the other man as though he were an idiot. "Well, I don't know," he began sarcastically, " maybe 'cause you're a buncha thugs yourselves?"

Kuyou's eyes flared to life, as did his temper. "You would do well to watch your tongue! Don't presume that you can speak like that to me so freely." His voice was scathing, and Naruto reeled back for a moment, surprised at the intensity with which Kuyou was speaking. "How dare you question our authority like that. A mere child like yourself should know better than to question your superiors. You are lucky that the headmaster is backing you up, else-"

"Will you just shut up, already?" Naruto's voice had risen, as well, and when it looked like Kuyou was about to retort, he decided he'd had enough; this was worse than when he'd dealt with Neji three years ago (and that said a lot about Kuyou's ego). Recalling his training under Mikogami, Naruto drew forth a trace amount of Kyuubi's chakra. It wasn't overpowering, but the blood lust and potency behind it were quite palpable. Kuyou did, indeed, shut up after that, his eyes widening marginally. It was Naruto's turn to smirk arrogantly, and he took the opportunity to do so with relish. "As I was sayin', since you're already involved in this shady crap, you shouldn't have much of a problem gettin' a bit deeper in it, right?"

"You have yet to give us a reason to help you," Kuyou reminded him. "We have no need to cooperate with you."

"Ya' see, I think that's where you're wrong, you bastard." A growl spurred Naruto to continue before Kuyou could interrupt him and go on another rant. "Old man Mikogami gave me this thingy," he held up the insignia, "so that means you gotta help me if you don't wanna piss him off. Besides, why not work with me? I just need whatever info you've got, then I'll leave you and your gang to screw around all you want."

Kuyou ground his teeth. This... imbecile had a point, however crudely he may have delivered it. Such a small victory as getting one over this buffoon wasn't worth alienating the headmaster even more than they already had, and he was wary of getting into a fight with Naruto; he hadn't liked the little glimpse he'd gotten of the other man's power. With a final snort, he conceded. "Very well. You have made your case, and I have deemed it reasonable."

"Sore loser."

"Thus," Kuyou continued as if Naruto hadn't interrupted, "you may peruse our information regarding Antithesis. It is, regrettably, limited-"

"Not very _intelligent_ of you!"

"-limited to this list of suspects. Take it and go!"

Naruto grinned triumphantly as he reached across to grab the papers. "Gladly." He quickly vacated his seat and headed for the door, taking great pleasure in Kuyou's obvious frustration. Just before he closed the door on his way out, he turned back to face the monster. "And for the record, I so could've kicked your ass!"

Kuyou's roar of outrage was breathtaking, but no one was there to hear it.

/

Crack!

It was that time of the day again. He had just finished his patrols around campus, and of course nothing abnormal had happened.

"Raaaggh!"

"Damnit!"

Well, that wasn't entirely true. He did hear something about some slug voyeur. He was a bit unsure about the details, though. Unfortunately, that immediately brought to mind some odd Tsunade Jiraiya hybrid. He couldn't help but chuckle.

Bam! Crash!

"...Ow." As he stood up from the wreckage of the tree he'd just hit (and promptly bowled over) Naruto reflected that he ought to pay more attention when he was being assaulted by a rampaging beast over ten times his size. Demonically reinforced or not, that thing could hit hard! Twirling Belmont, the magical whip, about, Naruto made his own assault. "Shadow Clone!"

As the hundred orange clad figures descended on the monstrosity, Naruto reflected just how incredible Belmont was. An item that drew out youkai (or in this case, a rough equivalent) would have helped so much when he'd been on that trip with Jiraiya. 'Just think what I could've accomplished with that! Pain wouldn't have stood a chance!'

The sound of footsteps to his side brought him back to reality. "You seem to be improving, Uzumaki. I am impressed; to think that you could have mastered the fifth tail after only a month..." Mikogami trailed off in thought, and Naruto preened under the praise. A moment later, the headmaster snapped back to attention. "You have visited with the Student Police Committee, correct?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, "Kuyou was an asshole, but he gave me a list of suspects. Here." Mikogami took the list and looked over it before nodding.

"It is far from ground-breaking, but it will help. You shouldn't confront any of them just yet." Naruto nodded. "I will see to it that Kuyou does nothing to provoke them, either. In the meantime, I would suggest that you use your clones to follow them, as well."

Naruto frowned. "Are you sure that's a good idea? If I make too many of them someone's bound to notice."

Mikogami just grinned. The creepy bastard. "Then just have them do it remotely. You have mentioned that such a thing is possible with your so-called sage mode."

Naruto nodded, but he was still cautious. If he had more than a few clones using sage mode at the same time, he would be risking losing control of all the nature energy when they dispelled. He had no desire to turn into a toad-shaped rock, thank you very much. 'Oh well, I guess it'll just be another challenge for the great Uzumaki Naruto to overcome! If Pain couldn't kill me, then this'll be a breeze!'

"For now, though, you should concentrate on the gorgon in back of you." Mikogami chuckled when he saw Naruto whip around. "Be careful, it's gaze can turn your flesh to stone!"

"What the hell!" The powerful monster could only laugh harder.

/

"Stupid old man," Naruto grumbled. His right arm still felt stiff, and he had to check every few moments to make sure it wasn't a hunk of rock anymore. His displeasure deepened just thinking about it. "I'm so gonna get him back for that."

It had already been two days since his ill-fated encounter in Mikogami's sub-dimension, and he had been going at his duties as hard as ever, even with his injury. It sucked, most definitely, but one good thing had come about from it. He'd heard an interesting bit of news; apparently, not just a day after his confrontation with Kuyou, the arrogant prick had picked a fight and lost. It must have been humiliating, which was why Naruto was going to congratulate the Newspaper Club for a job well done.

He believed that all good work should be rewarded.

Speaking of which, here he was. With a brief knock, he entered the club room. Five heads swiveled in his direction, all of them wary. They relaxed when they saw him. 'Must be worried Kuyou's gonna come back for 'em' he thought. With a large grin in place he decided to break the silence. "Yo, are you guys the newspaper club?"

One of the girls, oddly enough with blue hair, responded. "Yeah, but just who are you?" Naruto's gaze wandered toward her for a moment. She looked familiar, for some reason...

Anyway, he had a reason to be here, so there was no point worrying about that now. Looking at the older man sitting behind the desk, he asked "You the president, or something?"

A wary nod. "Morioka Ginei. And you are?"

Without a second thought, Naruto crossed the room, grasped Gin's hand, and gave it a good, hard shake. "Good job!"

"Uh, what?" The only other male in the room voiced his confusion, and it seemed that everyone else echoed his sentiments. "What's going on?"

"What else? I heard you all beat the crap outta that jerk, Kuyou." He got more blank stares.

After a moment of awkward silence, the blue haired girl, who was growing more familiar by the second, spoke again. "Why are you congratulating us?"

"Jeez, how stupid can you get?" That was the youngest girl in the room, another face that he felt he should recognize. "Kuyou and his goons have been terrorizing the school for over a year, of course they'd have enemies besides the Newspaper Club."

"Shut it, runt!"

"So," Naruto continued, ignoring the coming squabble, "which one of you was the one who beat him?"

"Oh, that would be Tsukune!" The last individual to speak was the pink-haired girl who'd been hanging out near that Tsukune guy.

"Congratulations!" Naruto gave the other boy a hefty pat on the back, sending him stumbling forward a few steps. He blinked. "Uh, sorry. I guess your monster form must be a lot tougher, huh?"

For some reason, everyone in the room tensed up. Tsukune laughed nervously. "Y-yeah. I'm really strong, right guys? I mean, if I wasn't I'd never have beaten Kuyou, right? Why would you think that I wasn't-" Everyone was quick to shut him up. Naruto blinked. That sure was odd.

Whatever, it wasn't his business. "So, Tsukune, right?" when the boy nodded, something clicked. "Wait a minute. You're that guy who was getting molested in the hallway two days ago, aren't you!" Tsukune blushed, as did the girls. "And all of you were the ones doing the molesting!"

"You don't have to phrase it like that!"

"Honestly, how rude!"

"Well, speaking of that, I've got a great idea Tsukune!"

"Kurumu, get away from him!"

Naruto watched on, in detached horror as the three girls lavished their attention upon the resisting, though not entirely unwilling, human. "How does he do that?"

Gin walked up to him and gave him a comforting pat on the back. "I've wondered the same thing all year, my friend. I'm afraid that we may never know."

As chaos descended upon the newspaper club and Gin and Naruto moped, a new friendship was born. It was bound to filled to the brim with jealousy, deceit, and gratuitous violence, but that was par for the course at Youkai Academy. At any rate, Naruto felt better knowing that he wasn't alone anymore in this strange and twisted place.

As he watched Tsukune get smothered by Kurumu's breasts, he had to admit that it was only marginally better. But, hey, he was in no position to be picky.

**AN:** Here's hoping my scene breaks stay there when I upload this. If they don't, please let me know.

And also, I totally called it. There's no way this would've gotten near the amount of attention it did with that crappy first chapter if I hadn't advertised the pairing! It just goes to show that the world really does revolve around sex!

Also, don't expect chapters to come this quickly all the time. Life at Reed College is tough and time consuming. And, if you live in Portland, look out for an idiot in a black duster riding a bike; that's probably me.

Tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it. Happy?

Some more profanity! Be warned...

**At the Tip of the Spear - Chapter 3: Cooperation**

/

Another day at Youkai Academy had come and gone. There was nothing special about it, nothing to make it any more interesting for the myriad of students who had, after more than a month, grown used to the routine. Sadly, that also meant that the male population had to watch Aono Tsukune getting mobbed by his harem. Despite the repetition, it never failed to piss them off.

Tsukune, currently caught in a tug of war between Kurume and Yukari, felt a familiar panic rise within his chest. 'Why do they have to do this everyday?' he wondered. It wasn't so much that he minded the attention (because he most certainly didn't), but that it inevitably led to infighting among his little group. 'You'd think that after all we've been through, they'd be able to get past this,' he thought irately. "Please, calm down! Can't we just put this aside for now?"

"But Tsukuneee!" Kurumu's whine, as well as her following embrace, reeked of sexuality. Hardly surprising, considering that the girl was a succubus. And boy was she sexy! Involuntarily, he felt his gaze meet her sparkling eyes, drift downward toward her pouting lips, then lower...

The familiar sound of metal striking flesh snapped him out of his daze, and he remembered that he was supposed to be breaking up yet another fight. 'At least Moka's not getting involved,' he thought in relief. A shock of pink hair inserting itself in the impending whirlwind proved him wrong. 'Never mind, then.'

It took a bit of doing to work up the courage necessary to interrupt the three girls from their impending bloodbath (considering their true nature, he thought this a very impressive feat). This day seemed to be following a pattern, though.

"Oi, Bastard!"

Sadly, that pattern seemed to involve Tsukune being interrupted, ignored, and, with the introduction of Naruto's and Gin's feet to his face, physically assaulted before he could complete a single sentence. That last bit was a new experience for the average boy. He hoped it didn't become part of his daily routine.

Many of those observing from the sidelines had very different hopes.

"Quit hogging all the attention! You're making me look bad!" Tsukune had known Gin long enough to ignore the older man; he rarely had anything useful to say, and Tsukune didn't think this time would be an exception.

It was just unfortunate that the newest addition to their group was so similar to the club president. "Yeah, what he said! I swear, that is _so_ unfair!" As Tsukune nursed his head, he idly noted, with more than a little sadistic pleasure, that the girls had changed the course of their violent intentions to include the two older boys. Still, as he watched the brutal maiming taking place right in front of him, he felt that he should do something to help...

"Oh god! It hurts!"

"Make the pain stop! I beg you!"

...Or he could just lay there and watch. He'd already taken enough abuse today. 'Besides,' he mused as Gin was sent flying face-first into a wall, 'what could I do to stop that?'

/

Later, after all injured parties had recovered, the group gathered in the club room. As the students (excluding Gin, as usual) got to work on the upcoming newspaper, Naruto lounged on one of the desks. He had some clones keeping tabs on all the people that Mikogami wanted tabs kept on, and he didn't have to meet with the headmaster for a few hours yet. Given that he had made no leaps in progress, even with Kuyou's list, Naruto didn't know what to do next. Which was why he was here, actually.

"Sorry, Naruto. We couldn't find anything on this Antithesis group," said the club president.

"By which he means that _we_," Yukari gestured to everyone in the room except for Gin, "didn't find anything. That lazy mutt didn't do a single thing!" Gin ignored the little witch's angry words, as well as the rest of the group's grumbling. He was very practiced at it by now.

Naruto rub his forehead in frustration. "Damn it. That was my last idea." Gin shrugged apologetically. True to the werewolf's words, Naruto had asked the Newspaper Club to help him in his search, as per Mikogami's advice. He'd only known them for a couple weeks, but they'd readily agreed. It wasn't all that surprising; it would have made for a great story, even if they didn't know the full extent of Antithesis' goals. Mikogami wouldn't have let them publish it, of course, but that wasn't important now that their efforts had turned up nothing.

And that put Naruto in a dilemma, because he did have a final alternative. He just didn't want to make use of it, both for his own dislike of Kuyou and because Tsukune and his other friends would definitely not appreciate him working with the Police Committee. Naruto didn't believe for a second that Kuyou had exhausted his usefulness after that one confrontation. If he could really get the man in gear he was willing to bet that he'd have this problem with Antithesis solved within a couple months, at most. If nothing else was working, he'd have no choice but to do it, even though his conscience and morals screamed at him not to.

Well, he'd talk about it with Mikogami first. Maybe the more experienced man might be able to see another solution. At the moment, though, Naruto had some time off and some friends to spend it with. He planned to take advantage of that.

"Well, don't worry about it," he said. "I'll just talk with Mikogami later."

"You know," began Moka, "it's really amazing that you're so familiar with him. He's a Hades Lord, after all. How did you get to know him?" Naruto blinked. Just for a moment, he thought that her voice had changed. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, exactly. Did she know Mikogami personally or something?

"Nah, it's not that amazing. I'm only doing a job for him, so its not like we're friends or anything." Boy was that true. He couldn't help but remember the gorgon incident. "He's actually kinda a bastard."

Cue shocked silence. "You know," began Kurumu, "most people wouldn't talk about a Hades Lord like that."

"But it's true! That jerk got my arm petrified!"

"Sorry to interrupt, but what exactly is a Hades Lord anyway." Everyone turned their attention to Tsukune.

"You know," said Naruto, "that's a good question."

"How do you _not_ know?" Tsukune gave Yukari a look. Scratching her head in embarrassment, she added, "You know I was talking to Naruto."

"Why should I know if Tsukune doesn't?" _That_ certainly got a reaction out of everyone. 'What's up with them?' Naruto wondered. As they all fumbled for an answer, Naruto pondered their odd behavior. 'Are they hiding something?'

"W-well, you see, it's just that, uh, you know-"

"What Tsukune's trying to say is that he comes from a pretty isolated place," cut in Gin, saving them all from a potentially horrendous situation. "He didn't get out a lot when he was younger. But what about you?"

'Thank you, Gin-sempai!' Tsukune could have hugged the other man right now.

"Well, I didn't know any monsters growing up." In the dead silence that followed, Naruto realized just how stupid a thing to say that had been. 'Shit! I can't believe I let that slip!' The shocked looks on everyone's faces didn't comfort him in the slightest. As panic threatened to overcome him, Naruto could only think 'Mikogami is gonna kill me!'

"What?" He couldn't tell what it was in Moka's voice that seemed different, but he thought it was probably anger. Or disgust. Or maybe fear? Or some odd amalgamation of all three, or it could have been...

'Damn it, I need to focus!' Naruto tried not to let his struggle show visibly as he turned all his efforts into covering up his idiotic mistake. "Well, besides all my friend's and stuff. You know, I just, uh, grew up in a, an out of the way place. Too. Like Tsukune. It's just that, ah, well, I don't really think of everyone back home as monsters..." Well, that was certainly not helping his case. "Buy they are monsters, you know? I just, ah, you know what? I'm gonna leave now."

"Are you a human?" Naruto stopped dead in his tracks at Moka's question. He'd blown it. There was no salvaging this situation now. He was screwed, of that he was sure. Mikogami would not be pleased, and he didn't even want to think what Tsunade would do to him for messing up his mission.

"You are, aren't you?" That was Tsukune. Naruto could hear the condemnation in his voice, and, despite only having known the other boy for a week, he found that it hurt more than a little bit. "I, I can't believe this. You're really human!"

"N-no, I'm not! I swear, I'm also a monster!"

"If that's the case, then prove it." Naruto glance toward Gin, who seemed to be taking everything in stride; did nothing phase that guy? But then what he said caught up, and Naruto realized something.

'I _can _prove it!' he thought, relief flooding him. He took a quick breath, then turned to regard the rest of the Newspaper Club. "Alright, you want proof?" A grin. "Here ya go!" Without Belmont, grasping the Kyuubi's power was difficult, but after a month of practice it was a whole lot easier than it had been when he'd left Konoha. He closed his eyes, concentrating all his effort into finding a trace of the fox's power within him. It was light, barely traceable behind the seal, but he could sense it, and he latched on to that dark chakra.

Then he pulled. He pulled hard and it came to him, flooding his being with power, making him immeasurably strong even as it wore away at his body. He opened his eyes and took in their looks of surprise; he couldn't fault them, knowing very well how intimidating the Kyuubi could be. He hadn't even taken out a full tail, but he had to consciously restrain the fox's bloodlust.

"Oh, I guess you're really not human. Sorry about that." Moka's voice was anything but fearful, which surprised him. On second thought, though, these were monsters who had been raised among monsters. It should have been a given that they wouldn't be all that intimidated by him. Maybe they were just surprised because they hadn't expected it?

Everyone seemed to be taking it in stride. Except for Tsukune. For some reason, he was sweating, frightened, and he refused to look at Naruto. Naruto frowned. There was that odd behavior again, and after this recent altercation he was starting to suspect that Tsukune was hiding something. He had a pretty good guess as to what it was, too.

"Well," he said, "I should probably go. I've got some stuff to do for Mikogami. See ya!" He needed to leave before they asked anymore awkward questions. He'd already slipped up once today. He'd confront Tsukune later.

As he hurried down the hallway, he tried to put thoughts of his mistake from his mind. He wasn't looking forward to explaining that one to Mikogami. Briefly, he toyed with the idea of not mentioning it at all. Doing so would almost inevitably bite him in the ass later, but he was certain that he hadn't compromised the mission. He trusted Tsukune and the others not to spread any rumors, nor did he think they were part of Antithesis. Of course, since he couldn't tell them his true nature, he had to wonder how deep that trust actually went.

Damn it! He was getting sidetracked. Naruto still had a few hours before he had to meet with Mikogami, and he had a mission to complete. Moping could come later.

/

Mikogami, as it turned out, had not been pleased to hear of Naruto's screw up. He'd already been aware of it, somehow, so Naruto hadn't even needed to bring it up. Training had been even less enjoyable than normal that night. Even now, after a good night's rest, he was still sore. And he had to meet with Kuyou.

Fuck.

He _really _didn't want to, but Mikogami had decided that enough time had passed without anything getting accomplished to warrant some direct action, and the Police Committee was the best at getting results. Naruto had, of course, protested, but the old monster would not be swayed. 'This'll be a lot of fun explaining to everyone,' he thought sourly.

So here he was, outside of Kuyou's door, trying to find every excuse to stall for time. He'd straightened his clothes and checked for Mikogami's insignia more times than he could count, and he could say for sure that he was completely dust free and prepared. Damn it. It was time to head on in.

Without bothering to knock he strode right into Kuyou's office. The leader of the Police Committee sat behind his desk, looking completely unsurprised at Naruto's visit. Not all that shocking, really; he would have been keeping an eye on Naruto after his first visit. This time, though, Kuyou was not alone. He had two others behind him, a woman with long, almost purple hair to his right, and a nondescript boy at his left. After briefly looking the two new additions over, Naruto grinned at Kuyou. "Smart."

Kuyou's face tightened. Apparently, the other blond didn't appreciate the implied slight to his strength. Neither did the two behind him who narrowed their eyes. "What do you need from me, Uzumaki?" The man's voice was surprisingly controlled, though it still reeked of condescension.

"I don't want anything to do with you, asshole. I'm only here because-"

"Because you weren't able to accomplish anything on your own."

Naruto grit his teeth at Kuyou's interruption. He hated to admit it, but the bastard was right. When it came down to it, that was why he was here. "Whatever."

Kuyou took a moment to bask in Naruto's frustration and embarrassment before asking "I repeat, what do you want from me?"

A pause. "Help me with Antithesis," he mumbled.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to speak up." There was Kuyou doing what he did best. Being a prick, that is.

"Screw you! Just do what I tell you so I can leave, alright?" Kuyou was about to protest, so Naruto took out Mikogami's insignia. "Remember this?" He took a small amount of pleasure from hearing Kuyou's jaw click shut. "Thought so. I don't want anything to do with you, but the old man says we gotta work together."

It must have taken a lot of effort for Kuyou to not drop an insult, but he managed to keep his composure. "I can assure you, the Police Committee does not require your aid." Okay, so maybe he was a little less composed than he appeared at first glance.

"Tell that to Mikogami," Naruto grumbled.

Apparently Kuyou had no intention of doing so as he said no more on the matter. "Very well. Let's get this out of the way."

"Lord Kuyou?" The monster's female minion seemed to be less willing to give in than her master.

"Be silent, Keito. This matter is already decided."

"But this is a stain on the Committee's reputation! Not only are we giving in to outside demands, but by allying ourselves with this man we are admitting weakness and incapability! I cannot stand for it."

Kuyou's eyes took on a dangerous glint. "Who do you think you are to question me like that? Would you have me oppose the headmaster, one of the three Hades Lords?" He scoffed. "Pure idiocy. Such short sighted pride can only bring us trouble." Now _that_ was a laugh. What did the hypocrite think his view of humans was?

Keito wasn't satisfied, but Kuyou's chastisement silenced her. The monster turned back to face Naruto. "Since you think you're so capable, what do you propose?"

Naruto was a bit taken aback that Kuyou would ask him his opinion right off the bat, but he recovered quickly. He and Mikogami had discussed this in depth before he'd been sent to talk to Kuyou. "Well, first off, you can't do anything stupid like attack anyone." The disparaging look that Kuyou leveled at him told him that the man had already discarded that as a course of action. Ignoring his reaction, Naruto continued, "What we really need to do is make _Antithesis _attack _us_."

"And how would you propose we do such a thing?" At least Kuyou seemed interested in what he was saying.

"Just give 'em a bit of trouble. Piss off a few of 'em, maybe."

Kuyou's deadpan look showed what he thought of _that_ idea. "Is that all? Didn't you just say that we were not to attack them?"

"There's a difference, moron!" Oh, they didn't appreciate that comment. "Just let em know we got our eyes on a couple of the flunkies. It doesn't matter as long as they don't know we're suspicious of Kaneshiro."

"You suspect the Student Body President?" Kuyou raised an eyebrow in surprise.

'Damn, was I supposed to say that?' Naruto wondered. He quickly discarded the worry. Mikogami was sure that Kuyou was against Antithesis, and the man seemed capable, if not more than a little corrupt. He wouldn't let this slip. "Yeah, but like I said, as long as he doesn't know, we're fine. So don't let him know."

"How stupid do you think I am?" Kuyou saw that Naruto was about to answer, so he continued on. "Neither I nor my subordinates will let this information out. Now, does your so-called plan extend any further?"

"Not really. There ain't much else we can do with what we've got."

Kuyou nodded. "True. But we can cover our tactics."

"Yeah, I already thought about that. Here's my idea." The rest of their meeting was spent working out the fine details of their shaky partnership. By the end, Naruto was left feeling satisfied that he was finally making progress. He would have been displeased had he been aware of the shadow that had been watching him since he entered Kuyou's office.

/

**A.N.** Not much to say here. Let me know any problems you saw the chapter; particularly with the characterizations and interactions. If there was anything that could used more fleshing out or attention, bring that up too.

A few people have been wondering about Akuha. If all goes according to plan (which it probably won't, given that this has already deviated from my original script) she'll appear in the not too distant future. First I've gotta get everyone outta the Academy, though, so expect anywhere from three to six chapters. Things won't be sticking with canon much longer. I'm excited to see how Tsukune and the others will develop when they're exposed to the shinobi world (hint hint).

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything appearing within this story.**

**Chapter 4: The Fruits of Teamwork**

Hiro Hachiro was, Naruto decided, a very boring person despite being involved with a radical, borderline terrorist organization. Admittedly, he was a low ranking member of Antithesis, hence why Kuyou had decided he'd be a good choice to harass, but he did nothing at all interesting; he displayed no behavior that would implicate him as being involved with Kaneshiro's rebellion; the only reason that they were aware of his involvement was because he'd been seen speaking with a group of so-called 'outcast ayashi' in a secluded area off-campus. Naruto was exasperated enough that he was willing to act on the suspicion. Kuyou, of course, had no problems with it either.

That didn't make watching him go his daily routine fun. It was a relief that classes had finally ended for the day, though the rush of students made it difficult to keep an eye on his target. Having the leader of the Police Committee breathing down his neck wasn't enjoyable, either, and Kuyou had been keeping close all day. They mostly just ignored each other, but damn if it wasn't awkward!

Ah, and there was Hiro! The lean boy was slowly making his way through the crowds, probably to grab a bite to eat before retiring to the library. He would spend an hour or two there doing homework before getting dinner and going back to his room for the night. It was a testament to how dedicated Naruto was (though most would call it boredom) that he'd mapped out schedules for all of his targets. He'd had little else to do up until now, but with the aid of the Police Committee, he could finally put that information to good use.

Speaking of which, here came two of the black suits now. Naruto watched from his perch on the school building as Hiro was taken aside rather roughly. He absentmindedly drew on a small amount of nature chakra, the task being much easier after his training with Kyuubi's chakra. It wasn't much, but it let him get a grasp on the rebel's emotions. Huh, fear and anxiety, imagine that. He never would have guessed.

Naruto looked down at his watch, seeing the hands pointing to 3:20. One of the enforcers, Keito if he recalled, took her cue and dropped a reference to Antithesis. It wasn't phrased quite so obviously, but it sparked a sudden surge of strength in Hiro's fright. "Jackpot," Naruto said aloud. Kuyou didn't say anything, but let a small, self-satisfied smirk creep onto his lips.

The harassment continued for a short time before the two goons let their victim leave. Naruto noted that he wasn't headed for any of his usual haunts. "Bastard must be spooked pretty good."

"Yes. And now he will give us exactly what we need." Despite all his general dickishness, Kuyou was good at what he did. After a month of stalemate, they were finally accomplishing something. It humbled Naruto a little bit that it was all getting done so quickly. They immediately set off after Hiro. He was heading toward the forest, the very place where he had met up with the outcast ayashi just weeks ago. That was definitely a good sign.

Despite the situation, the silence between Naruto and Kuyou was tense, as it had been all day. Naruto was itching to tear into the jerk for his treatment of Tsukune, but he held his tongue in check; he'd waited to get some dirt on Antithesis for too long to screw this up because of his big mouth. Once it was over, though, Kuyou was in for it. Even working with the guy for just a day was frustrating beyond all reason. He hadn't seen his friends since his awkward confrontation two days ago, and he was anxious to talk to them, especially Tsukune.

"Pay attention," Kuyou muttered harshly. Naruto scowled but said nothing. They watched Hiro from behind two large trunks. The boy had stopped outside of an old, dilapidated warehouse that looked as though it had been abandoned for decades. It was riddled with holes and blemishes, and looked like it was on its last legs. Honestly, even Naruto thought it was cliche, but he put the thought from his mind. He needed to focus.

Hiro was definitely nervous. He was twitchy, his eyes darted every which way, and his arm shook slightly as he rose it to knock on the worn door. "Midou," he called, "Midou! Are you there? This is Hachiro." Naruto and Kuyou made note of the name, but made no moves to interrupt. Slowly, Naruto brought up his hands to form a cross with his fingers. In the distance, an inaudible 'poof' signaled the formation of two shadow clones. They immediately began collecting nature chakra.

Hiro didn't notice, and he let out a breath as the door opened. From where he was, Naruto couldn't see who was behind it, but Hiro was quickly brought inside. From his right, Kuyou growled in frustration. "Now what? We can't get in without alarming them. Perhaps we should attack now while we have the advantage of surprise?"

Naruto was surprised that Kuyou was asking his opinion, but he chalked it up as the other man being paranoid. Still, there was no need to attack yet. He still had a trick up his sleeve. "Not yet," he told Kuyou. Just follow me." A quick application of chakra later and Naruto had brought them underground with the Inner-Earth Decapitation technique. Using his chakra as a drill, Naruto silently carved a path through the ground, pushing chakra toward his ears to locate the outcast ayashi. Kuyou took a brief moment to adjust to his new surroundings before following after Naruto.

It took only a few moments to find a good position. He could hear people speaking above him, and stopped moving to pay attention. "What are you doing?" Kuyou whispered, irritated.

"Shut up, will you? I'm listening." Kuyou said no more, and Naruto turned all his attention to the conversation above him.

"-you came here? Idiot! What if you were followed?" The sound was distorted through the ground, but Naruto was sure that this wasn't Hiro talking. Maybe it was that Midou guy?

"I wasn't! I swear! I made sure that there was no one behind me!" That _was_ Hiro, and things didn't look too good for him, apparently. Naruto wasn't a particularly sadistic person, but he was more than a bit pleased to hear the fear and anger in both voices. Naruto knew from personal experience that people said stupid things when they were emotional.

"And how can you be sure of that, Hachiro?"

"Midou, you know how good my nose is. Nothing within one hundred meters can escape my notice." Hiro, it seemed, was good for something after all. It was just too bad for him that Naruto was an expert at controlling air flow. Most monsters were good with their noses, so he had prepared a buffer of wind to divert his and Kuyou's scents; apparently, even Hiro couldn't get around that.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Naruto thought he heard Midou take a deep breath, and when he spoke, his voice was noticeably less tense. "Right. No one is quite as sensitive to smell as you are, but if you ever do that again, I will personally kill you. The Police Committee are obviously onto you, and there is no way that they didn't notice you leaving the school grounds. Hurry up and get back there. Act like you never came here and don't do anything suspicious. Do _not_ come back here until you're called, and keep an eye on the Police Committee and the Headmaster's watchdog." Damn, they knew about him? That wasn't good. Still, as long as he acted quickly enough it wouldn't matter. They just had to grab this Midou guy, get him to spill everything on Antithesis, then apprehend everyone who was involved. It shouldn't be a problem.

"Hiro's leaving," he said to Kuyou. "This Midou guy is up there, and I think he's got about twenty other guys with him."

"Forget the pawn," Kuyou growled. "Let him leave, then we'll attack everyone else and capture this Midou." A cruel glint entered Kuyou's eyes. Naruto almost shuddered. "He'll be quite useful."

As Hiro left, Naruto heard some shuffling above him and he silenced Kuyou. "Quiet, I think they're talking again." He motioned for Kuyou to stay put, then dug further away, positioning himself under a safe corner where he could emerge without exposing himself to any attacks. He decided that now would be a good time to dispel one of his shadow clones.

He did so, and the presences above him became more distinct. His estimation was pretty accurate, too. "Now what, Midou? They're gonna come after us soon. There's no way that the leader's gonna let us off now!"

"Shut up! Do you think I don't know that? We have to act before that happens, and the sooner we do, the better chance we'll have of surviving this. Tonight, before the Police Committee is ready to act, we'll launch our attack. We'll wipe out those arrogant, narcissistic purebreds. We'll be completely safe as long as we can place the blame on someone else."

Naruto held up his fingers, slowly counting down the time till he'd emerge. Kuyou nodded. Three.

"In fact, we've got the perfect scape goat!"

"And who would that be, Midou?"

Two.

"Tell me, who do you know of who has a grudge with the Police Committee? Who has already spilled blood against them?"

"Of course! They'd be the obvious culprit!"

One.

"Let it be known from tonight onwards that the ones who massacred the Student Police were the Newspaper Club!"

CRASH! "That ain't happenin', assholes!" Naruto came out of the ground just behind one of Midou's minions. The monster tried to turn around, but his face was quickly introduced to Naruto's Sage Mode powered fist. His face distorted wildly before he was brutally flung across the warehouse. His body landed with a lound thump and lay there, unmoving.

Cries of alarm sprang up from various monsters, but Midou quickly rallied them. "Shit, I knew that idiot screwed up! Quick, get him! If he gets away, then we're as good as dead!" It certainly didn't calm them down, all twenty-one of the remaining monsters turned their attention to Naruto, regarding him with looks that suggested violent and sadistic intentions. And then they all changed, shifting into large, grotesque forms that were far more befitting of the moniker 'monster.'

Well, this sucked. Naruto braced himself for the inevitable charge, creating two shadow clones and forming a Rasengan in each hand. He was prepared to fight, but it was a welcome sight when Kuyou's flame-engulfed body erupted from the ground behind Midou. The leader of the Police Committee minced no words, letting loose a roar and a torrent of flame toward the masses of monsters. Midou barely dodged, but the two monsters right behind him were slower; they collapsed to the ground, bodies alight and howling in pain.

Naruto grinned. It looked as though the fox spirit would be able to pull his weight. Oddly ironic form, though.

The monsters were in disarray, and Naruto and Kuyou took full advantage of this. Naruto rocketed forward, driving both Rasengans into two of the nearby hulking forms. Neither could react in time, and they were blasted into the walls where their mangled and bloody bodies lay unmoving.

Whipping around, Naruto lashed out, using the Toad Katas he had learned at Mt. Myobokuzan. The beast that had been descending onto him from above dove out of the way, only to discover that Naruto's reach extended further than his arms. They, too, were rendered unconscious.

Naruto's clones, meanwhile, were wreaking destruction on the surrounding ayashi, who were only just recovering from their surprise. Kuyou had engulfed half of the warehouse in flame, and was steadily tearing through the enemies ranks. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed a large fist swinging in his direction. He turned about and grabbed it, his enhanced strength stopping it in an instant.

Using the brief lull in combat, Naruto observed his new attacker. It was Midou, of that he was sure. His aura was by far the strongest of the monsters he and Kuyou were fighting, but his body seemed to be utterly deformed. Bony protrusions covered his head, his face was shrouded with bulging veins, and his right arm was unnaturally massive. A cocky grin crossed the monster's face. "So you're Uzumaki Naruto, huh?"

"How the hell do you know my name?" Naruto demanded. Without waiting for an answer he drew on his great strength and heaved Midou back the way he came. Midou slammed into the ground, but he got up with little trouble. This one would definitely be a pain in the ass.

"We've all heard of you, you goddamn spy. You're not very good at what you do, are ya'?"

"I found you, didn't I?"

Midou snarled at him. "Only because that _idiot_ Hiro led you here. But that doesn't matter, 'cause you're not leaving here alive!" With a roar, Midou ran across to Naruto. He cocked his arm, prepared to drive Naruto through the ground. It was just too bad that he didn't notice one of Naruto's clones blindsiding him.

Midou crashed into the floor again, ripping up patches of concrete as he skidded across the warehouse. He tried to recover, but as he got to his knees Naruto drove an elbow into his face, and Midou was again knocked down.

What ensued was a vicious tag-teaming effort between Naruto and his clone. Midou, strong though he was, could not keep up with two fast opponents. Naruto would dash in and deliver an unbelievably strong haymaker, then retreat while his clone dove into its own assault. The rest of the ayashi would have helped were they not preoccupied with Kuyou and Naruto's remaining two clones, the second of which had come in from where it had been formed outside.

Midou did not last long, and Naruto bound him with wire as he collapsed. Only seven ayashi remained now, and that number was quickly whittled down to zero as Kuyou and the clones brought their considerable power to bear. Soon, they were the only ones left conscious, and Naruto dispelled his clones. He let the returning nature chakra dissipate from his body after making sure that no one else remained.

"You caught him. I am impressed." Kuyou, for once, was being sincere in his praise. It was definitely throwing Naruto for a loop. "I'll take him back to our headquarters. You bring the others." Ah, there was the jerk he knew and despised.

But first, "I've got something to ask you before you leave." Kuyou stopped and turned about. Naruto took his silence as an invitation to keep speaking. "Why did you guys attack Tsukune?"

Kuyou's eyes darkened. He was obviously still displeased with his defeat. "It was a misunderstanding. I was given false information that Aono Tsukune was a human."

Naruto frowned; he was really growing to hate this racism that seemed so rampant in Youkai Academy. "And you just acted on it like that? Why the hell didn't you check?"

"We did! Aono Tsukune was given permission to reveal his true form, and when he didn't I detained him. He only transformed after the Newspaper Club initiated combat with us. Since he has shown that he is, indeed, a monster I will have nothing further to do with him."

"Good," said Naruto. "I'll warn you right now that if you try to hurt any of them again you'll have to deal with me." Kuyou nodded and left without another word, dragging Midou behind him.

Naruto created his clones absentmindedly. As they went about binding and carrying the remaining monsters, Naruto considered what he had just heard. Was Tsukune a monster after all? He'd been sure that the younger boy had been a human after what had happened in their last meeting, but he wasn't so sure now. If Kuyou had seen him transform, then that should have been the end this line of questioning. But if that was the case, why would Tsukune not have transformed until his friends were already in danger? Naruto hadn't known him for very long, but Tsukune didn't seem like that kinda guy.

As the last of the clones left the building, Naruto resolved to ask Tsukune about it later.

/

Over the past month Tsukune had grown to accept that monster women seemed to be unnaturally attracted to him, even if he wasn't quite used to it. First Moka, then Kurumu, both of whom were very beautiful in their own rights, and later Yukari, for whatever reason, had come to insert themselves into his life. It was an experience that he was completely unused to, having been ignored by all of the girls at his previous school.

He still lacked confidence with any female as a result, which was probably why he so flustered when this odd girl had come up to him out of nowhere with such a blatantly ridiculous warning. "What are you saying? There's no way that Naruto would be working with Kuyou. What reason would he have to do that?"

She stared at him silently, unblinking. As the lull in conversation continued, he felt himself start to fidget. She was really good at making him feel uncomfortable, he had to give her that.

After another moment passed, Shirayuki Mizore shrugged. "I don't know why. I'm just telling you what I saw."

"But Naruto's my friend! He knows what Kuyou did to me, to all of us! There's no way that he would betray us like that."

Again, Mizore shrugged. "Like I said, I don't know. I just thought I'd let you know."

Tsukune stood there, feeling as though he should say something else. But what? This was just too weird and awkward! But she was still standing there, looking at him with that odd gaze of hers...

"Well, um, thanks? I'm not sure whether to believe you or not, b-but it's not like I think you're trying to lie to me or anything. I mean, well..." Damn, this was harder than he'd thought. "Why did you decide to tell me, anyway?"

She actually smiled, a little bit, before holding up the newspaper that he'd helped publish just a little over a week ago. "I liked your articles." Tsukune waited expectantly for more, but it didn't seem as though anything else was forthcoming.

"...Thanks?"

"There you are, Tsukune!" Never in his life had he been more thankful for Kurumu's blatant displays of affection. Being smothered in the succubus' breasts at least gave him an excuse not to talk. Mizore looked on in morbid fascination and more than a little jealousy. Her icier than usual disposition went unnoticed by Tsukune and Kurumu.

The addition of Yukari and Moka to the scene made things even more volatile. As the usual exchange went on about him, Tsukune couldn't help the feeling of dread that crawled though his stomach. It was only a matter of time before his fears were realized.

/

"What the hell?" Naruto looked upon the carnage with horror. What had happened here? It looked worse than the aftermath of his and Kuyou's systematic slaughter at the warehouse just hours ago. The jagged spikes of ice, gashes in the walls, ceiling, and floor, and the sheer amount of debris was staggering! "What were you guys doing? And who's that?" he asked, pointing at Mizore.

Yukari, who looked the least damaged out of everyone in the group, answered. "She's a violent psychopath who's after my Tsukune!"

Naruto blinked. "You know, your obsession with Tsukune is really disturbing." Yukari puffed up angrily. "But like I said, what the hell happened here?"

"I'll tell you what happened!" screamed Kurumu. "I was just spending some time with Tsukune when that maniac," she pointed at Mizore, "decided to attack us out of nowhere! She's a rabid dog!"

"I wasn't the one suffocating him with that grotesque chest of yours."

Naruto ignored the rest of them in favor of glowering at Tsukune. The topic of the argument didn't notice, having suffered the brunt of the damage; he'd been at the very epicenter of the disaster, though, so Naruto could hardly blame him. A small movement off to the side caught his attention. "What were you doing when this happened?"

Moka averted her gaze. "I was over here." Naruto raised an eyebrow, and she laughed nervously. "They're really scary!"

"Point." He turned back to the rest of the group. Seeing that Tsukune was starting to recover, Naruto called out to him. "Oi, Tsukune! I wanted to talk with you about something."

"With me?" Tsukune looked decidedly nervous. That was odd. Was he still wary about what happened last time?

"Yeah, it's pretty important. It'd probably be best if we were alone." Judging by Tsukune's reaction, that was probably the wrong thing to say. He turned absolutely _pale_ as all the blood drained from his face, and he scooted backward.

Mizore stepped in front of him. "I don't think that's a good idea. Tsukune shouldn't be alone with any of Kuyou's associates." Moka and the rest gasped, looking at him questioningly.

Naruto felt like a cold, leaden weight was sinking into his stomach. How had she known that? And why was this girl who had just turned up trying to turn everyone against him? They were all completely misinterpreting this! "What are you trying to say?" he asked, cautious to keep his tone neutral. He didn't want this spiralling out of control, though it seemed to be headed down that path already.

"I saw you talking with Kuyou yesterday, and you were with him today, too."

Moka spoke up at this point. "Naruto, she's lying, right? You're not really Kuyou's friend, are you?" It almost sounded like she was pleading, as though she couldn't bear even the thought. It sparked a sudden feeling of guilt within his chest.

"Of course not! I can't stand that guy!"

"Then what were you doing with him?" Damn that new girl, making things so hard on him. Still, he couldn't really deny what she'd said. Even if he lied about it, word would probably spread about his partnership with the fox spirit. He could only hope that they would let him explain himself.

"That's... complicated, alright?" Not that he was holding out much hope.

"So she was right?" demanded Kurumu. "You really are working with Kuyou!"

"How could you do that? You know what he did!" Tempers were starting to flare, and with everyone against him, Naruto couldn't help but lose control of his own. It was like a fire, the confusion and anger spreading from one person to another, simmering throughout their very beings. And it was all aimed at him. It _hurt_ to be singled out, though; it always did, and it always brought up memories from his childhood, too.

"Of course I know! I just said I wasn't his friend, didn't I?"

"You also said that you were hanging out with him, so which is it?"

"It's both!" God damnit, this was out of his hands now! He knew that this wasn't right, but he was too angry to care. He couldn't stop his own words, and that infuriated him even more.

"That doesn't even make sense, Naruto! Were you working for Kuyou this whole time? Just keeping an eye on us since we humiliated that pompous jerk?"

"No! Will you just-"

"Everyone." Tsukune's quiet voice brought silence to the corridor as they all turned their attention to him. He was still pale and frightened, and probably more than a little upset; he wasn't the kind of person to enjoy seeing his friends fighting with each other. "I-I think we should just stop. Let's just... go home, okay?" Naruto wasn't sure why, but the look of betrayal that Tsukune cast at him hurt more than all of the angry words had. He could only nod.

Everyone else nodded their assent, then got up and prepared to leave. As they were walking away, Naruto couldn't help himself. "Ah, Tsukune? I-"

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Tsukune spoke sadly, "but you said it yourself; you're working with Kuyou. I... I don't think that I can trust you anymore."

And he left.

**AN:** I'm very surprised with myself. After a long period of inactivity, I somehow managed to pump this out in a single day. I know, I know, I should have been doing my physics, or writing my essay, or studying Chinese or limits and integrals and mathematical theory, but I've had a long week. So, instead, you all get this. Yay?

As always, if you have any questions, ask me about them in a review. I'm more than happy to answer them. I'm concerned that some of the scenes either begin or end too spontaneously. I think that some of them are also developed awkwardly. Tell me your opinion. Thanks!


End file.
